Journey into the Darkness
by KiraYamatoFan
Summary: Between the Marberry Shore mission and the re-taking of Bruhl, 2-3 weeks separated both events. What happened during this time when Welkin goes on a vengeful rampage? You'll find out in this short Welkin-centered fic, which will most likely take 2-3 chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Valkyria Chronicles: Journey into the Darkness**

**Chapter 1: Descent**

**August 23, 1935**

Following the success in Fouzen, Squad 7 of the Gallian militia was sent to the Northern coast in order to take back the country's primary industrial region. For that matter, the first objective was to take back Marberry Shore. Because of narrow paths along the coast and heavily fortified cliff faces on the beaches, a frontal assault by any force was thought to be impossible. However, the solution to the problem came from one of the youngest and yet the most ingenious member of the squad, Isara Gunther. Indeed, 16-year-old Isara made enough smoke bombs to cover the advance of her squadmates past the 2 pillboxes defending the entry point towards the enemy camp. From there, the Edelweiss tank and Squad 7's soldiers managed to take down all enemy forces and take control of the area.

However, the aftermath of this battle was also the end for Isara when the sound of a single gunshot suddenly pierced the calm and Isara fell to the ground as the bullet hit straight to her chest. Rosie was paralyzed and in utter shock as she watched her newest friend fall to the ground. Meanwhile, her squadmates took cover as a small group of Imperial soldiers started firing towards the Squad 7 members. Welkin managed to see for a split second the face of the enemy soldier who fired the first shot.

After a brief firefight, the very few Imperial soldiers left ran away from the skirmish to the dismay of Largo. Once the firefight stopped, Welkin, Alicia, Largo and Zaka joined Rosie in trying to comfort Isara.

"Isara!" Alicia shouted in despair.

"Isara... no..." Welkin said. He was visibly crushed by what just happened.

"Sorry... your dream... I wanted... I so wanted... to make it real... just for you, Welks." Isara replied as her voice was getting weaker.

"My dream? What do you mean?"

"Before... you told you wanted to... to fly... remember? You wanted... wings... so we could... see the... the sky together."

Welkin clenched his teeth in despair as he remembered his old dream and remained speechless for a few seconds. "We will. We'll go flying real soon, Is. I promise."

Upon Welkin's last words, Isara smiled one last time before she closed her eyes and died peacefully in Welkin's arms. Alicia, Rosie, Largo and Zaka then understood that their squad's beloved little sister was lost. For Welkin, it was a crushing blow although he didn't want to show it as the squad's leader and no one expected what was about to happen next.

* * *

Later in the evening, Welkin already returned into his tent since a few hours earlier. He explicitly ordered to be left alone that no one would come to disturb him unless there was a matter of life and death. He was still in utter shock and massive disbelief that his sister, the only family that was left for him, was now gone. As much as he tried to keep his composure as the coolheaded and cerebral person he always was for the sake of the men and women serving under his orders, the grief and pain became overwhelming for him.

Suddenly, Welkin let his emotions get the better of him for a rare moment and started pushing and throwing his stuff on the ground in anger. "GOD, DAMN YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE ME INSTEAD OF HER? WHY? DAMN YOU!" he shouted and the members of Squad 7 outside could hear their commander. They didn't think less of him at all, on the contrary. The men and women of Squad 7 were first and foremost civilian volunteers; they knew the pain of losing someone or something close to each of them because of the war. They were only hoping Welkin would find a way to go through the mourning process.

As Welkin stopped, an unexpected memory came across his mind.

*_Flashback scene, 2 years ago._*

"Scalping?"

"It's about removing the scalp either from a dead body or a living person as written in this book. The initial purpose was to show each scalp as a trophy in battle, but it also became linked with business trade in some cultures. Back in the ancient times and until the last century, they say that Darcsens were unfortunately the target of numerous scalping acts across Europa as people who hate Darcsens used scalps to count how many they killed."

"That's horrible. When was the last time something like this happened in recent memory?" Welkin replied.

"I heard that some Imperial paramilitary Death Squads were sent into Gallian villages during the First Europan War. They apparently performed mass executions of Darcsen civilians during the first weeks of the war, and then scalped the dead bodies after torturing, raping and killing them."

"Tell me that the ones responsible for such horror have been brought to justice, Faldio."

"Unfortunately, no one was ever court-martialled mainly because the bodies were burned. With only testimonials from survivors, we could never gather enough evidence to convict them for war crimes."

"I hope no other Darcsen will ever have to suffer such horrible fate. They are innocent people as far as I can remember about them."

*_Flashback scene off_*

Suddenly, Welkin had an idea growing in his mind. Although he never revealed it to anyone, Welkin felt a burning desire for revenge growing ever stronger within him since Isara was killed by Imperials who then ran away earlier in the day. Now that the thought of scalping re-surfaced in his mind, he knew exactly what he wanted to do next. 'If I have to make them pay for their crimes, I'll do something that will scar their minds forever as the payback they deserve.' Welkin thought to himself.

At the time, voices were heard outside discussing about the Imperial forces that retreated away from Marberry Shore. "Do we have any news about where the cowards are hiding, Aika?"

"From what I know, they must be around 12 kilometres in the woods east from here. I also heard those guys were also part of Darcsen hunting squads, Vyse. That's what Zaka told me; he saw the unit markings on their uniforms."

"That's really awful. I won't show them any mercy if I face them later on."

"Neither will I, Vyse. They will pay for Isara and the others."

Upon those words he just heard from the conversation, Welkin got what he needed to know. He took a knife and slightly cut the palm of his left hand for blood to flow out. Then, he took the blood from his left hand and started "painting" his face red. Once ready, Welkin took a rifle, a knife and a hatchet as his weapons. But he also made sure to leave his Gallian officer's coat behind for this personal mission.

Welkin sneaked out of his tent silently and moved to the horse stables which belonged to the Imperials earlier. Without being spotted, Welkin took a horse and rode quietly towards the woods. A very short time later, Alicia walked by the stables before she spotted the rider approaching the tree line in distance and going towards the woods. Welkin turned to have one last look backwards and saw that he wasn't being followed at all; however, Alicia managed to recognize Welkin's face in distance.

"Welkin?"

As the Gallian lieutenant disappeared into the woods with the horse, Alicia was still in shock at the sight of Welkin with his face painted with blood and going alone towards the East.

* * *

At 12 kilometres to the East, 15 Imperial soldiers were taking a rest around a small campfire after retreating away from their positions in Marberry Shore. They set up a perimeter with a few soldiers guarding the perimeter for the night. On the West side of the perimeter, 2 Imperial soldiers were having a smoke when Welkin was slowly approaching them from behind. After spending a few minutes studying the area and the exact location of all Imperial soldiers, Welkin quickly dashed forward towards the 2 guards, slit the throat of the first one with the knife before stabbing the other guard straight to the heart. The action was so quick that neither of the 2 Imperial soldiers could let out a scream to warn their colleagues.

Knowing that another pair of soldiers was protecting the perimeter, Welkin moved swiftly towards them and managed to sneak in position behind them, waiting for the right moment. Less than a minute later, Welkin jumped ahead and slit both guards' throats. At the same time, one of the sleeping Imperial soldiers just woke up, but he was unaware of the danger lurking in the area. Having spotted the awaking enemy, Welkin waited his prey to isolate himself away from the rest of the group. Slowly, the Gallian lieutenant prowled through the woods waiting for the right moment to attack the lone soldier who was moving towards the area where the 2 guards were guarding the Western part of the perimeter.

"Lukas? Sven?" the Imperial soldier asked for the 2 guards' whereabouts.

When the soldier arrived in the area, there was nobody there. Suddenly, the soldier felt something hitting his feet after walking a few steps further. When the Imperial soldier looked to the ground with some help from the moonlight shedding some light upon the land, he saw the dead bodies of his squadmates on the ground. Terrified by the sight before him, the soldier drew his handgun out of his holster ready to shoot at anyone unknown to him. However, that was underestimating Welkin's ability to use nature on his side and it only took a split second for Welkin to stab the enemy soldier to the heart from behind. However, the dying Imperial soldier had the time to pull the trigger and the resulting gunshot sound got all 10 remaining Imperial soldiers waking up.

"What the hell was that?" the Imperial sergeant and squad leader asked.

"Sounded like a gunshot, Sergeant. Franz's not here. There's nothing from Lukas, Sven, Tim or Miroslav either."

"All right, defend the perimeter. First unknown is a dead one."

Despite the unexpected noise resulting of his last kill, Welkin took advantage of the enemy's confusion to identify the enemy squad's leader. While the Imperials were taking position around the campfire, Welkin was taking advantage of the darkness of the night, the trees and bushes as cover for his next move. After waiting a couple of minutes and leaving the Imperial soldiers into a growing anxiety, Welkin aimed his rifle towards the Imperial sergeant and killed the latter with a straight headshot.

"The Sergeant's down!" one of the soldiers said.

"Where did that come from?" another soldier asked.

Meanwhile, Welkin moved quickly to another position before taking aim again. This time, the Gallian lieutenant shot a corporal and a soldier dead in quick succession. Then, the other Imperial soldiers started firing towards the shooter's position. However, Welkin was already moving to the next spot with a good view on the enemy's vulnerable position.

"Did you see someone, Peter?"

"No, I can't see a thing."

Before anyone could react among the Imperials, Welkin kept on moving and firing one shot at the time. After killing 3 more enemies with the same hit-and-run tactic, Welkin's rifle was out of ammo. Instead of reloading his rifle, Welkin decided to proceed with close quarters combat knowing that there were only 4 enemies left; all of them were expecting him to show up from mid-range or further.

With the speed of a demon, Welkin emerged out of the darkness, charged towards the 4-man group and knocked the first soldier down with a clothesline hit. Then, the Gallian lieutenant used his hatchet to knock another soldier's rifle aside. In that last action, a gunshot was fired and accidentally hit a third Imperial soldier to the stomach. Quickly, Welkin unleashed a quick combo of hatchet slashes and knife cuts to the stomach and back of the enemy soldier before finishing off with a hatchet strike to the head. In a desperate move, the fourth and last soldier of the group tried to swing his rifle's buttstock at Welkin's head. However, Welkin was agile enough to avoid the hit, knock the rifle off the Imperial's soldier's hands, use the rifle to knock the soldier away and finally jump on the disarmed enemy. Immediately, Welkin finished off the soldier with a knife stab straight to the neck.

As the soldier who got stunned by the Gallian lieutenant's clothesline hit earlier tried to get up, he was immediately spotted and then struck by another deadly hatchet hit. Welkin then looked around him for more hostiles, there was no one left standing and only one soldier desperately crawling away from the campfire after sustaining a gunshot wound to the stomach.

"Show your face, Imperial!" Welkin ordered with anger in his voice to the wounded soldier crawling a few meters away.

When the wounded crawling soldier turned to face Welkin, the latter was shocked to see that the soldier before him was the same one he spotted earlier in the day. The wounded soldier's face was lit by the campfire; he was the same one who fired the bullet that killed Isara. The soldier looked to be barely 18 years of age.

"Have mercy on me, PLEASE!" the Imperial soldier begged.

"Mercy? Why should I? You took the life of someone dear to me earlier today. You killed innocent Darcsen civilians in Fouzen; women and children. I know about your affiliated squad... Darcsen hunter." Welkin replied.

"We had... orders to do it. And besides, everyone... hates Darcsens in Europa, even in Gallia. I was doing... a favour for everyone."

"Really? Then, I'll do you the favour of giving you THIS!"

Without hesitation, Welkin channelled all of his anger and thirst for vengeance by throwing the hatchet at the young Imperial soldier's head before Welkin went on to strike the downed soldier multiple times with the hatchet. At the same time, the lieutenant let out an animalistic cry, venting his anger. Knowing that all enemies were now dead, Welkin then proceeded to push the young soldier's helmet away and started using his knife to scalp his last prey. Later in the night, Welkin scalped all of the other 14 Imperial soldiers just as Europan warriors of old did, but Darcsen hunters were the victims this time.

* * *

**August 24, 1935**

Early in the following morning, members of Squad 7 were already awake as they usually do for every morning. Some of them were taking their breakfast; others were reading the reports written by Irene Ellet for the newspapers. At the time, none of them bar a few people were aware of Welkin's disappearance and no one was prepared for what they were about to see.

"My God... Oscar, Jane, look behind you!" Emile Bielert said to his brother and Jane Turner.

Behind them was Welkin riding slowly on his horse out of the woods towards the camp; he was covered in dust and blood. Hanging all over his upper body were the scalps of the 15 Imperial soldiers he killed in the night. All the members of Squad 7 turned their sights in Welkin's direction while the latter was looking at no one in particular on his way. His eyes were almost empty.

"What the...?" Oscar asked as he watched in horror the sight before him.

"I thought I saw so many horrible things already, but that..." Jane couldn't find her words either.

"Welkin did that?" Edy asked.

"Looks like it." Lynn replied.

As Welkin made his way through the members of his squad, many of them were in utter shock horror to see their commanding officer, normally a very cerebral and coolheaded man, exhibiting the proof of his barbaric actions. A few sensible hearts couldn't take much of the horrible sight, especially Susie Evans who hated blood and violence more than anyone. "I think I'm gonna puke." Susie said before running away quickly.

"Please don't look, Aisha!" Catherine O'Hara said as she, Karl Landzaat and Lynn quickly moved in to prevent young Aisha Neumann from having a look at such a horrible sight.

Having seen the other soldiers gathering, Alicia, Largo, Rosie and Zaka ran to see the reason behind the gathering. As soon as they saw Welkin, the same reaction of horror struck the depths of their minds. "Wel... Welkin?" Alicia asked in disbelief. The lieutenant didn't answer.

"He followed the path of vengeance. Isara's death must have broken him more than we expected." Zaka said.

"Poor Welkin... Isara, please watch over him. We can't afford to lose him now." Rosie said.

"What's going on here? Why is there a fuss?" Captain Eleanor Varrot asked as she and Faldio pushed their way through some of the Squad 7 members.

"Elle... You won't like it if you see what I see." Largo replied.

Captain Varrot and Faldio then saw Welkin on his horse, with all the scalps hanging over his upper body. The 2 officers realized that Welkin already went for a bloody revenge against the remnants of the enemy garrison at Marberry Shore, the ones who killed Isara and who once were deployed in Fouzen. Everyone who knew enough about Isara was already shocked by her death, but the last thing anyone expected was a coolheaded man like Welkin to be such a mess showing off the scalps of 15 Imperial soldiers. Once arrived by his tent, Welkin got off his horse and carried the scalps inside before secluding himself alone inside the tent.

"What is going to happen now?" Largo asked.

"I don't know, but I hope he's not a lost cause already. For now, I have to make sure General Damon doesn't know anything about the responsible of this savage act." Eleanor replied.

Some time later, Faldio decided to talk to Welkin, try understanding what happened and why. Welkin was sitting alone in his tent, fixing nothing in particular and the bloodied scalps were hanged everywhere inside the tent.

"Welkin! It's me, Faldio! Are you okay? Talk to me, Welkin."

However, Welkin remained silent and nothing seemed able to get through his shell.

**To be continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Struggle**

**August 25, 1935**

It had been 2 days since Isara was killed in the aftermath of the battle for Marberry Shore followed by Welkin returned to the camp with Imperial scalps hanging all over him, the result of his vengeful rampage the night afterwards. Since that day, Welkin spoke to no one and would barely eat any food given to him by members of Squad 7; he was visibly lost within his own empty universe. Despite how hard they tried to get their friend back, neither Alicia nor Faldio was able to get Welkin back to his senses assuming his role as a commander.

Since that massacre, Imperial troops got fear striking down upon them after recovering the dead bodies of their scalped comrades. As Captain Varrot hoped, nothing about this incident ever reached General Damon's ears although members of the Gallian militia spoke among themselves in low voice about what happened. However, the greatest problem for Captain Varrot was then to find a new commander for Squad 7 considering that Welkin was unable to assume his position. In late afternoon, Alicia was summoned by the Captain in her office.

"You asked for me, Ma'am?" Alicia asked.

"Indeed, Sergeant. After what happened in the last few days, I'm sure you're already guessing why I asked for you here. Am I right?"

"I'm not one to assume anything, Ma'am."

"Listen, I know that you trusted Lieutenant Gunther since you were very close friends with him and with his younger sister. However since she passed away, things have become a mess for Lieutenant Gunther. I am usually not a pessimistic person, but I seriously doubt he'd be able to be a part of this army any longer. Hence, I'm considering promoting you as the leader of Squad 7." Captain Varrot said.

Alicia was stunned and couldn't find an answer.

"Is there a problem?" Captain Varrot asked.

"No Ma'am... It's just that it's so sudden and I didn't want things to turn out that way. I may need some time to consider."

"Sure... 3 weeks starting tomorrow, to be accurate. Your squad has done so much in recent months and Corporal Gunther's death has strained the squad's morale near breaking point from what I could see. For those reasons, Squad 7 will be removed from combat operations for 3 weeks and Squads 1 through 6 will take over during this time. It should give you enough time to think about this offer, bury your friend, and for everyone else to get some rest. But remember: when you earn everyone's trust in your squad like you did, they will follow you 'til the end."

"Thank you, Ma'am. What will happen with Lieutenant Gunther?" Alicia asked.

"Officially, he'll be demobilized and sent home. Furthermore, I'll get help from a military psychiatrist for his own sake. But for now, it's better for you to take the next 3 weeks off and come back ready for battle; it's all that matters now." Captain Varrot replied.

Alicia paused for a few seconds and then saluted her superior officer. "To us, nothing is impossible!"

"Never impossible!" Captain Varrot replied and saluted back to Alicia.

Afterwards, Alicia left the office and walked for a while. Despite what Captain Varrot told her and the 3-week rest Squad 7 was given, Alicia's thoughts were mostly aimed at Welkin as she was really worried about what will happen to him. 'Welkin... is there anything in this world that I can do to bring you back? I know you're not a lost cause at all.' she asked in her thoughts.

* * *

A few hours later, it was already dark and Welkin was asleep. However, all that Welkin saw in his dreams for the last few days were nightmares of Isara's death and of the screams of the soldiers he slaughtered. Except for this time, the dream was slightly different. After reliving the events at that Imperial campfire, Welkin was walking in the middle of a pool of blood oozing from the dead corpses of Imperial soldiers he just killed and the landscape turned from a forest into a wasteland. The sky was dark and mist was surrounding Welkin.

"_What is this? Where am I?_" Welkin shouted.

Suddenly the glowing shape of a little girl appeared behind the lieutenant, who never expected a familiar voice to speak behind him. "Stop it! _Why did you do this?_" the voice asked.

Welkin then turned to see who just spoke to him and he was mostly surprised. "_Isara?_"

"_Why did you do this, Welkin?_"

"_It can't be... I saw you dying in front of me... They had to pay for everything they did... against you and all the other innocent people. They deserved to die_."

Then Isara started shedding a few tears before she spoke again. "_Look at you, Welkin. The brother I know and love always considered humans and animals with equal respect... because that brother of mine loves nature. That brother of mine also takes good care of his friends and loved ones. Where is he now?_"

"_Isara... I swore to protect you and to make sure you'd see the end of this war. When Father passed away, I swore I'd take care of you. And yet, I failed to follow Father's last wish... and now I have no one left to protect. First, I lost Mother. Then, it was Father. Now.._. _What is there left for me, Isara? There's no one left!_" Welkin replied as tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"_You're wrong, Welkin. There's always something or someone to protect._"

"_Please let me go with you, Isara. I can't afford to lose you this time again_."

"_You won't lose me. I'll always be with you along the way_."

Suddenly a loud noise was heard and a pillar of light appeared upon Welkin. Then he felt himself being dragged into moving up the pillar. Welkin didn't understand what was going on. "_Isara! What is going on? Where am I going? What should I do?_"

"Y_ou'll have to find the answer on the other side; I know you will. Farewell._" Isara finished before Welkin disappeared up into the sky alongside that mysterious pillar of light.

* * *

Suddenly, Welkin woke up and the only sound he heard was gunfire. After a few seconds, he realized what was going on: the camp was under Imperial attack at night. Indeed, the Imperial forces, especially anti-Darcsen death squads, managed to rally a battalion in response to the attack on Marberry Shore and they were looking forward to destroy the units holding the beachhead with a surprise attack from the North. The attackers took advantage of the surprise effect by attacking in the dark although the defending Gallians shot a few flares to light up enemy soldiers. At this moment, the situation was getting bad.

"They've got an entire battalion!" a Gallian soldier shouted.

Imperials were now sending everything they had towards the Gallian positions. As if the desire for revenge was not completely dissipated, Welkin felt anger building within himself almost the same way before he slaughtered the enemy soldiers in the forest; he knew blood would have to be spilled once again. Without further wait, Welkin gathered his pistol, his knife and his hatchet before gathering all the ammo supply he can carry on himself. As he stepped outside of his tent, he ran into young Sergeant Ramal Valt, who incidentally had a crush on Isara.

"Lieutenant Gunther?"

"Sergeant, where is the Edelweiss?" Welkin asked.

"It's still at the back of the base for re-supply. Why?" Ramal replied.

"Come with me! I'll need a driver so I can take down those tanks, NOW!"

Still shocked about Welkin's presence, Ramal took a few seconds before snapping out of it and then followed the lieutenant in double quickstep towards the Edelweiss. Despite the protests of the people re-supplying the massive Gallian tank who said that ammunition and fuel were still short, Welkin disregarded the pleas and got into the tank along with Ramal. Within seconds, Ramal started up the Edelweiss' engine while Welkin loaded up the cannon with an armor-piercing shell ready to be fired. At the same time, members of Squad 7 were holding their ground the best they could against the bulk of the enemy attack. However, it was very difficult considering the several attacking waves and the darkness of the night despite the flares being fired to help Gallian machine guns shooting at the enemies. At this point, the Gallian militia were barely holding the last line of defense of their camp.

"We can't let them get past this last line! Our camp would be wide open if they do." Alicia said.

"What orders, Sergeant?" Karl Landzaat asked.

For a few seconds, Alicia had some difficulty getting her thoughts together until Rosie's voice was heard. "Alicia, we need a new strategy to stop them! What do you want us to do?"

"OK! You, Lynn and Karl, get a machine gun and move up North into the woods. We need you to mow their infantry down from their flank." Alicia said.

"Got that! Let's move!" Rosie then ordered the other 2 soldiers before the 3-man team went on the move carrying the machine gun and ammo boxes towards the flank on the West.

"Here they come!" Largo shouted.

Within 3 seconds, a new wave of imperial soldiers charged towards the defensive lines only to be greeted by heavy fire. Largo, Vyse, and Jane were firing their machine guns from their nests. However, Imperial mortars started firing, prompting the machine gun crews to take cover. Despite that, one of the Imperial shells hit the position where Vyse and Aika were holding the machine gun. As a result the MG nest was blown away.

Quickly, Susie ran towards Vyse and Aika to have a status on their condition. Fortunately, neither of them was seriously injured and both got away with only a mild concussion. "Vyse and Aika will be fine… but the machine gun is totalled." Susie said to Alicia.

"Damn! I'm out of ammo! Get me a box!" Largo shouted.

"That's all I had left!" Nadine said.

With 2 machine guns out while the fate of Rosie's team was unknown at the time, things were getting worse when Jane shouted what Alicia didn't want to hear about the last machine gun nest still holding. "I'm out of ammo! Get me some ammo!"

"Tanks!" young sniper Oscar Bielert shouted.

To make matters worse, Imperial tanks arrived in front of their fellow ground troops and started aiming at the positions held by Squad 7. At that moment, Alicia felt it was the end of all resistance and all hopes of survival fainted. Suddenly, the first sound Alicia heard was an explosion destroying the lone and leading Imperial heavy tank. Looking towards the source of that shot, Alicia spotted her team's salvation.

"Edelweiss!"

Indeed, the Gallian tank managed to put itself in position to fire at the Imperial tank's vulnerable backside. The remaining 3 Imperial medium tanks started firing at their new opponent, but the Edelweiss used full advantage of its speed to avoid enemy fire and retaliate with accurate shots. Every time, Ramal's driving ability managed to get the Edelweiss within firing angle towards the enemies' ragnite engines and the Imperial tank crews could only pray for their lives to no avail. Within a few minutes, all Imperial tanks were destroyed and Welkin was lucky because the tank ran out of shells after the last tank was destroyed.

"Burn, you bastard!" Ramal shouted.

From their positions, the Gallian militia cheered at the sight of the Edelweiss the mechanized threats and were about to join the fight with a newly galvanized spirit to push back the attackers. "Here's our chance. Push forward, everyone!" Alicia shouted.

"You heard the lady! Charge!" Largo added to the battle cry.

Within seconds, the Gallian militia came out of their defensive positions and started the counterattack at the Imperial ground troops who were still mesmerized by the Edelweiss' presence on the battlefield. Meanwhile on the Edelweiss, Welkin started manning the tank's machine gun firing frantically at anything moving and wearing brownish uniforms in front of him. As a result, panic struck the remains of the Imperial battalion and many of them started retreating with the prospect of defeat looming large.

"We lost all of our tanks and our mortar teams have been neutralized. We won't be able to press the attack any further." an Imperial soldier informed to his superior officer, Lieutenant Colonel Hargreaves.

"Order everyone to fall back! Fall back!" the Imperial lieutenant colonel yelled at his soldiers, who immediately complied with that last order.

In the midst of their retreat, Imperial soldiers were greeted with an unpleasant surprise. Indeed, Rosie was now firing her machine gun from the woods at Northwest of the Gallian camp and straight towards the Imperials' flank. Providing extra fire, Lynn also fired her submachine gun while Karl unleashed a few rounds from his shotgun. At the same time, elements of Squad 7 kept on pushing up alongside the Edelweiss. The final result was deadly as dozens of Imperial soldiers were slaughtered in the crossfire.

Soon, the few surviving Gallian troops converged towards the limits of the clearing while pushing back the enemy. Once the Imperials disappeared into the woods, the Edelweiss and the Gallian militia stopped moving forward. However, Welkin wanted more than just pushing the enemy back. "Why did you stop, Sergeant? They are getting away!"

"Those woods are too thick for tanks to move in, Sir." Ramal replied.

Then Welkin jumped out of the tank with weapons on his back before asking the same question to all Squad 7 members still standing. "What are you doing? They are running away! AFTER THEM!"

"It's no use, Sir. They are in no condition to strike back." Karl Landzaat replied first.

"We also need to take care of the wounded from other squads. We can't carry on for now." Largo added.

Quickly, Welkin looked around and set his sights upon Rosie: she was still carrying the machine gun she used earlier to mow down the attackers from their own flank. Immediately, the Gallian lieutenant walked towards her. "Give me that!"

"What, Boss?" Rosie asked.

"If you don't want to carry on, I'll take that machine gun. They must ALL die." Welkin said as he laid his hands on the machine gun. "I'll not let those bastards escape this time until they are all dead!"

"NO! Please don't!" Rosie replied as she tried to keep her grip on the machine gun and resist Welkin's attempt to take it. "Has been there not enough blood spilled? That is not what Isara would have wanted if she was still here."

Upon hearing his sister's name, Welkin felt his blood boiling even more and instinctively threw his head forward hitting Rosie in the face, who fell backwards and unconscious at the same time she lost her grip on the machine gun. Before anyone else could make a move, Welkin quickly ran into the woods with only one thing in mind: kill every single soldier from the nearby Darcsen-hunting squads he can find until there's no one left or until he dies.

"Rosie!" Largo attended his unconscious friend.

Meanwhile, Alicia took a few seconds to get a full grasp of the situation as she never saw Welkin in such a violent state of mind. She knew something had to be done even though it would be risky and time was running out for a decision to be made. "I'll go after him."

"What for?" Largo asked.

"I don't know yet. But I have to do something to bring his former self back. Otherwise, we'll lose him for good and God knows what he'll do to himself." Alicia replied.

"Karl and I will go with you for this." Lynn said.

"Don't. It's better I do this alone… because I might be the only one standing a chance to get through his shell."

Quickly, Alicia ran into the woods following the path Welkin took a short time ago. No matter how much the members of Squad 7 wanted to help, they knew Alicia was right and that they can't risk facing a berserk Welkin at this point in time without risking being caught in his rage. All they could do now was to pray for Alicia and Welkin to safely return to them.

* * *

While chasing the remaining enemy troops in the woods, Welkin was dashing through the forest like a man possessed. Whenever he found a safe shooting position, he unleashed a deadly salvo with the machine gun upon the unlucky Imperial soldiers standing in his way. It went on for several minutes until the machine gun ran out of ammo, forcing Welkin to drop it before pushing forward to kill more enemies with his pistol until it gets empty too.

From time to time, Imperial soldiers stopped in their retreat and fired at Welkin. However, Welkin moved so swiftly that he got to each soldier before striking with either the knife or the hatchet. Sometimes, an Imperial soldier could be used by Welkin as a human shield before attacking another nearby soldier. In the final stages of the massacre, a badly wounded Imperial soldier managed to reach a radio.

"This is… Corporal Slovnik, Blue squad... It's total mayhem in the woods south of your position... Gallians stopped following us, but everyone is getting killed by a single man... This man's a ghost. What should I do, Sir?"

"Slovnik, this is . Hargreaves. Hang in there, son. I'll come down the road from the North and deal with this bloodthirsty bastard myself before pulling back. Are you still there, Slovnik? Slovnik?"

Unknown to Hargreaves, Slovnik was already slashed dead to the head by Welkin, who heard the orders from the man commanding the anti-Darcsen death squads. The Gallian lieutenant picked up the radio and started speaking: "Hargreaves! I finally found you."

"Who is this?"

"Your worst nightmare. You fled away from Fouzen like a coward after setting fire to the barracks where Darcsen workers were held. You killed many Darcsens since the first days of the war. I'll make you pay for all your crimes."

"If you're so eager to face me, why don't you meet me down the nearby road? I'm just a klick north."

"I'll see you out there." Welkin finished.

Within a matter of a few minutes, Welkin arrived on the country road, which goes through the forest. From there, the Gallian lieutenant moved up north and kept on pushing up. Once the front lights of Hargreaves' car appeared in distance, Welkin drew his pistol as he knew what he planned to do next... charging the enemy vehicle.

"You want to play, uh? Let's get this done!" Hargreaves said as he also drew his pistol for this duel. "Run over him, Lieutenant Jenkinson!"

Upon this order, Hargreaves' car increased speed while the Imperial senior officer started firing towards Welkin, who avoided bullets on his way up. At the same time, Welkin fired multiple shots from a stolen Imperial rifle, destroyed the car's front lights, and then struck a few deadly hits on Lieutenant Jenkinson. With no driver left and with the car going at high speed, the Imperial vehicle flipped over. . Hargreaves was thrown out of the car and fell unconscious.

A few minutes later and still stunned by the forced stunt, Hargreaves felt some pain in his right leg and his right arm: both got was broken because of the accident. Then, he looked for his pistol knowing the man threatening his life was still there. When the moonlight appeared through the clouds, Hargreaves spotted the gun... only to find Welkin standing with his foot on it. Welkin was only grazed by a couple of Hargreaves' shots in the earlier standoff.

"COME HERE!" Welkin shouted as he grabbed Hargreaves by the collar before dragging him off the road.

"What do you want now?" Hargreaves said.

"You and your men killed many civilians. You killed harmless prisoners. Some of them were children. Last but not least, your men are responsible of killing my sister. The judge and jury find you guilty, and you are sentenced to death. Any last words?"

"The Darcsen-loving scum like you will die by the hands of the Empire." Hargreaves replied defiantly.

"You won't see that in your lifetime." Welkin said. Upon those words, the Gallian lieutenant drew his hatchet and struck Hargreaves several times to death. All the cumulated feelings longing for vengeance were vented out upon each stroke of the hatchet. Now that the head of the Darcsen-hunting department in the Imperial Army was killed, Welkin started feeling empty and knew that there was no way he could come back to his fellow squadmates after everything he did to satisfy his selfish desire for vengeance.

Welkin then took his knife and put it under his own neck; his intentions were clear. "There's nothing left for me here and I can't go back after what I did, Isara. Please forgive me."

Suddenly, a voice shouted behind him. "STOP IT, WELKIN!"

**To be continued**

* * *

**Notes**: I must admit that I was busy with so many things, but I haven't forgotten about this story. Now that this short fic has reached the peak of the action, stay tuned for the conclusion.


	3. Chapter 3 (End)

**Chapter 3 - End: Guardian Angel**

**August 26, 1935**

"STOP IT, WELKIN!"

Upon hearing the shout, Welkin restrained himself from committing the irreversible. However, he was still pointing the knife under his own throat and could cut it at any moment. Then the female voice pleaded with a softer voice this time: "Please, Welkin. You don't have to do this."

Welkin lowered the knife and then looked at the source of the plea. "Alicia?"

"I know this is a very difficult time and that you are in pain. However, you're not alone in this and you'll never be. I beg you to not do this." Upon hearing those words, Welkin felt on his knees, slowly dropped his knife and then turned away from Alicia's gaze. He didn't want to face the young woman after everything he did a few days prior and just a few minutes ago.

"Please don't look at me like this, Alicia. I've done so many inhumane things and I don't think I'd have the right to earn anyone's compassion, not even yours."

"Why do you say that?"

"Most of the people I slaughtered in the last few days were as young as only 18 years of age; they had their entire lives ahead of them. When I joined the militia, everyone expected me to keep a cool head no matter what and avoid senseless killings. Yet, I let my emotions get the best of me, I unleashed a monster out of myself and people lost their lives because of this madness. Knowing all of this, you have the right to hate me and I'd rightfully deserve it." Welkin said dejectedly.

Slowly, Alicia moved towards Welkin and hugged him from behind as her way to try comforting him. "I do not hate you...I just can't hate you and I'm fine this way. You made mistakes, I also made mistakes, but this is not the end because we're still here to live another day and make up for our mistakes."

"When we started fighting this war, I wanted so much for Isara to see through this war at any cost and I thought I did everything to have her in a safe position. Now that she is no more, I really don't know how I can keep going further anymore."

"Finding a reason to carry on when someone or something dear is lost is never an easy thing, but it is not impossible. As long as I'm still here with you and no matter how long it might take, I'll help you in finding it."

Welkin took a few seconds to catch everything Alicia just said. He still couldn't believe that there was still at least one person who believed in his humanity when he thought the last bit of humanity within him was lost. Alicia's words suddenly started helping Welkin regaining faith in himself.

"You promise, Alicia?"

"It's a promise, Welkin. I'll walk along with you in every step of the way and as long as it will take. Days, weeks, months, it won't matter to me."

Upon those words, Welkin sank his head into Alicia's chest and sobbed a little with tears of relief. Once lost, he finally found some light on his way towards the end of the tunnel. "Thank you for believing in me, Alicia. Please forgive me for showing so little faith in you."

"It's alright. Please take a rest now. You saved me from sinking into despair on the first day, and time and time again. I will make sure you won't fall."

"Right, but we have to find a shelter for the night. I think I've seen a place on my way here."

* * *

In the first lights of dawn, mixed units from the Gallian militia squads were slowing walking up north of the base camp and through the woods. Their current mission was two-fold: make sure there are no Imperial forces left to launch any counterattack, find Welkin and Alicia's whereabouts. Because of casualties sustained by Squads 1 through 6 and the wounded from Squad 7 during the surprise attack, soldiers who were in condition of continuing gathered together and formed the search party, which was led by Faldio. So far, they found dead Imperial soldiers' bodies scattered here and there, but hopes of finding Welkin and Alicia alive were not set too high considering how both threw themselves in pursuing the enemy during the night.

"Largo, do you see something?" Faldio asked.

"Not at all, Lieutenant. And with that morning mist, it isn't helping us until the sun pushes it away. I hope he is doing OK."

"I also hope he didn't do anything stupid to himself. Why did you have to do such crazy things on your own, Welkin?"

"Lieutenant, we found something!" Lynn shouted.

Faldio rushed towards Lynn's position a little further in the woods. "What is it, Lynn?"

"It's Lieutenant Gunther's machine gun… the same one he took away from Rosie, Sir. However, he's nowhere nearby."

"I really don't know... the further we go, the more I'm afraid the worst already happened." a worried Juno Coren added.

"We have to find him and Alicia too, Juno. At least and at last, we know we're on the right track searching for them." Faldio responded to his former fellow student from their university days.

"Lieutenant, we have something else here!" Zaka shouted this time from some little distance ahead. "I found a Gallian-issued pistol."

"No doubt about it: Welkin has gone in that direction. Pick up the pace, people!" Faldio ordered the search party to hasten, knowing they were getting closer to Welkin's position. Along the way through the mist, the Gallian conscripts found more dead Imperial bodies along the way. However, the mortal wounds on the dead bodies changed from bullet wounds to knife and hatchet wounds.

"Knife and hatchet wounds... Welkin must have done it again while hunting those Imperials." Zaka told Faldio.

"That doesn't look too good." Faldio said with a sigh. "According to my map, there's a road just a klick to the North. I hope Welkin used it as a landmark."

After walking a little further towards the location of the road, Rosie spotted something in the early morning sky. "What is that..? That's smoke. I see smoke dead ahead!"

"Lieutenant, we have black smoke in the sky dead ahead. It has to be 200 yards ahead of our position." Largo added.

"Double quickstep, NOW!" Faldio ordered everyone.

In a matter of a short span of time, the search party arrived at the source of the smoke. Once there, they noticed some car wreckage that was burning and a dead body in there. It was quickly identified as an Imperial officer's car. While searching in the area, they also found the body of an Imperial officer whose head was holding marks of repeated hatchet strokes. Judging from the black uniform, they knew it was an important figure of authority.

"It's a Lieutenant Colonel... probably the leader of the Darcsen hunters if we look at the insignia." Zaka said. "Welkin must have done a number on him too."

"Where can he be now?" Faldio was now desperate and resorted to shout out loud in order to hope finding Welkin and Alicia. "Welkin! Alicia! Where are you?"

"Hey, Boss! It's Largo! We're here to pick you up."

Everyone in the search party started shouting with the waning hope of finding Welkin and Alicia alive. Suddenly, a voice was heard giving the long-awaited response everyone was hoping to get. "We are here, everyone! We are coming out, so don't shoot." Alicia said.

Finally, the sunrays pushed away what was left of the morning mist before Welkin and Alicia showed themselves out of the place where they took shelter for the night, a brushed cover that was once used by deer as a shelter. To everyone's relief, both Welkin and Alicia were in good shape.

"Welkin! Alicia! You're OK?" Faldio asked.

"I'm fine, Faldio." Alicia replied first.

"Me too, Faldio. I'm really sorry I got you worried about me for the last 3 days." Welkin added.

All the members of Squad 7 were very happy to see Welkin and Alicia both doing well. Among them, Juno was quickly overwhelmed by a few emotions that she kept for herself in a long time. In a matter of seconds, Juno quickly ran and jumped with her arms out at Welkin, embracing him. "Welkin! Thank goodness, you're alive and well! I know you had a tough time, but please don't ever throw away your life like that ever again. I was so worried!" Juno sobbed with tears of massive relief and joy.

At the same time, Alicia started turning her gaze away. Since meeting Juno in the early days of military training following the outbreak of the war, Alicia already knew that the blonde 22-year-old had strong feelings for Welkin since the two of them were attending university. With brains and beauty in spades in Juno's favor, Alicia felt she didn't have much of a chance to win Welkin's heart.

"I'm really sorry about that, Juno." Welkin responded while tapping Juno's back a little to comfort her. "However, Alicia really stopped me from doing something totally reckless. I wouldn't be here today if she wasn't here for me." Then Welkin turned towards Alicia. "Thank you for finding me when I got lost within my own soul; no one else would have done it."

Suddenly, Alicia's eyes widened when she heard Welkin's last response. At this moment, she knew that Juno was only a friend in Welkin's eyes and that Alicia was the only one in his thoughts when talking about this crucial moment in his life. She didn't speak a word, but nodded her head in response with a smile and sparkling eyes. However, it was enough for Welkin to catch the extent of her answer.

"We'll make sure to support you along the way until this war is over and even beyond if we have to, Boss." Largo said.

"Thanks, Largo. Where is Rosie? I hit her, didn't I?" Welkin said before he looked over and spotted Rosie a little further. The redhead woman and "big sister" of the squad had a few stitches above the left eyebrow as the result of Welkin's earlier headbutt. "Damn! I'm really sorry for hitting you like that, Rosie."

"No worries. I got KO'd, but I think it was somehow quite a rightful punishment for all the bad things I said to Isara in the past without apologizing. That makes it even." Rosie answered with a little smile.

Then all the members of the search party laughed at something for the first time in over 3 days. Finally, as the regular Gallian army troops arrived to reinforce the position held by the Gallian militia, Welkin and all the militia soldiers were allowed to go back to the camp. As others were walking back, Welkin stopped for a while and looked up at the sky.

"You sent me quite a guardian angel, Isara. God knows where I would be if it wasn't for her. I don't know yet what will drive me into going forward without faltering anymore, but I promise you that I'll find it. I'm sure that's you'd tell me right now." Welkin said as if he was talking to his late sister.

"Hey, Welkin. What are you doing? We must go back." Alicia said.

"Coming, Alicia."

* * *

After returning to the Gallian camp, Welkin got dressed and presented himself at Captain Varrot's temporary office under the tent. With the several incidents involving Welkin in the last 3 days, the young lieutenant expected his superior officer to lecture him very loudly and he also knew he would not have much of a case to defend himself from a possible discharge. Once facing Captain Varrot, things didn't look too good as her gaze was icy cold.

"I guess you already know why I summoned you here. Don't you, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Welkin replied.

"To the list of violations to the code of military justice you committed in the last few days, I can list the following: stealing one of our horses, going AWOL out your base camp twice during a state of war, unauthorized attacks on the enemy, use of questionable methods that included scalping corpses, and, nonetheless, use of physical force on an enlisted woman who is under your orders, namely Corporal Stark. Do you have something to say about those?"

"Ma'am... Losing my younger sister was very hard for me to endure. However, it won't use it as an excuse for what I did. I take full responsibility for my acts and I will face any given punishment."

Captain Eleanor Varrot took a few seconds to ponder Welkin's reply before speaking again. "Is that all, Lieutenant?"

"I don't think I can do much more except to be ready for your verdict, Ma'am."

"I took the time to consider the detailed account of the events from last night as well as a few recent developments. From what I was told, your intervention with the Edelweiss came at a very crucial time when we could have lost the base camp and sustained more severe casualties. Also noteworthy, you found a way to neutralize a large number of Darcsen hunters as well as their leader who escaped from our forces' grasp several times. With the death of Lieutenant Colonel Aidan Hargreaves, Darcsen-hunting operations by Imperial forces will be largely crippled and many lives will be saved as a result. Furthermore, neither General Damon nor the others members of the military command are aware of your reprehensible actions. Finally, Corporal Stark dismissed any opportunity to press charges against you. You are still the best squad commander I have. However, your mental condition still leaves a risk."

"What does that mean, Ma'am? Am I to be kicked out of the militia?" Welkin asked not knowing where to begin with.

"I say it depends of you, Lieutenant. If you feel you need psychological help before signing your discharge papers, I'll provide you the support. If you want to come back with this uniform on in 3 weeks, you will have to follow regular psychological evaluations. Either way, you'll have to go under the watch of Major Stefan Zimmer. He's a psychiatrist at the Veterans' Hospital in Randgriz and he's the best in helping soldiers coping with war-related psychological trauma. Major Zimmer was also the one who helped me finding a way to cope with Frederic's death years ago and to continue serving in the armed forces."

"I'll do my best in meeting the second option and will come back."

"Very well. I'll also ask him to give me updates on your progress; no one outside of Major Zimmer and I will know about your true situation during that time, not even your men. However, be reminded that it is the last time I leave you off the hook because I'll immediately have you thrown in jail if you violate the code of military justice once again. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am! I will put my best effort in following your advice."

"Good. The rest of Squad 7 will also take a 3-week leave after the huge efforts your men made to get us this far; I'm sure they are exhausted and are in need of a rest. Is there anything else you would add?" Captain Varrot asked.

"Before I leave Squad 7 and meet Major Zimmer, please let me bury my own sister today."

"Granted. I think it's the least you can do for her. Dismiss."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Welkin finished and saluted his superior officer before leaving.

* * *

**Three weeks later**

During the 3-week leave following Isara's funeral, Welkin spent every day in the psychiatric ward of the Veterans' Hospital. Over there, no one recognized Welkin; on the other hand, he saw other patients on his ward talking to themselves. It was a reminder of how lucky Welkin was in having Alicia stopping him while others didn't have the same luck in trying to keep their own sanity. Major Zimmer spent days talking with Welkin in order to find something over his past life, his relation with Isara and the several analogies with nature that might help the young lieutenant in his next task. Although the answer was not as clear as daylight, Welkin found bits of motivating elements that would push him forward.

At the beginning of the third week on leave, Welkin came facing with an old friend from his university days who goes by the name of Jonathan Porter, who was recently admitted because of a nervous breakdown. Porter didn't speak to anyone at all despite Welkin's attempts to break through the shell. Finally, Porter revealed what led him to the hospital: his unit was returning when Imperial artillery caught them out in the open and all Porter could do was jump into a hole while the unit was getting slaughtered. Porter also revealed that he carried a badly wounded man on his back, that he felt the man's heartbeat growing weaker, his lungs gasping for air and a weak voice praying for God to save him before the man died on him. That was the only time Porter ever spoke to anyone before secluding himself into a wall of silence.

After that moment, Welkin spoke with Major Zimmer and told him that the hospital was no longer where he should be, that his place was to be leading his men on the frontline and a make a difference. Despite some reluctance at first in front of Welkin's request, Major Zimmer signed the reintegration papers as he felt that the young lieutenant found the spark although neither of them could describe into words what it was about. Once cleared for duty, Welkin wasted no time heading back to where Squad 7 was waiting for the next mission.

At the Gallian Militia's base camp, members of all squads were having a rest when all eyes suddenly turned towards a familiar figure returning with a backpack in hand; it was Welkin. The first thing they saw in his eyes was a renewed determination and willingness to keep on fighting. Then Alicia and Largo arrived to meet with their leading officer.

"Alicia! Largo!"

"Welkin! You're finally back!" Alicia replied.

"Hey, Boss! How are you doing?" Largo asked.

"I took some time to do some self-introspection and I think I'm ready to go back into the fire if any. How are the others? I saw a few, but they really looked flat."

"Despite the break, the guys still have low morale. It's as if Isara's death still left mark on their minds." Alicia replied.

"If you ask me based on experience, I think they need action. They need to do something to feel meaningful in our struggle towards victory. Although the break was good for us physically, sometimes the mind needs something else. I hope we'll get a new mission soon." Largo said.

"I think the same way too, Largo. However, that's up to Captain Varrot to decide."

"Welkin! Captain Varrot has asked for your presence in her office now. Hopefully, it will be for a new mission; the guys really need this." Zaka said.

"Thanks, Zaka. I'll go there to explain the situation and try to know what is coming next." Welkin finished before walking away towards Captain Varrot's office.

"Something has changed in him" Largo said.

"I know, but I feel it will be somehow for the best." Alicia finished.

From there and onwards, the rest became part of History.

**The End**


End file.
